A blog about my gardening experiences

THE REFURB

So I have this patch in my garden that is a bit of a headache. It’s just around my budliea plant and plants struggle to thrive because the soils is so compact and clayey. I have planted annuals for a few years and they always struggle to do well. I remember in my early days of gardening I planted poppy seeds there, but because I had no idea what the seedlings looked like(naive me) I uprooted them because I thought they were weeds. Disaster….

On a more serious note I’d love to name a few plants that have seen their Waterloo there to put this issue in context. Geraniums, poppy, lilies,dianthus, marigolds, and latterly lavetera which only did well in the first year. I have decided to ditch the lavetera as I feel I could plant something else on that patch. So I’ve decided the soil needed some much needed improvement hence my attempt at a refurb.

Stage One
I’ve broken up the soil with a hoe and mixed it with sharp sand and multipurpose to loosen it up. Someone has suggested gravel but I can’t bring myself yet to do that.

I have then planted the geraniums and watered. We’ll wait and see how they fair

Stage 2

The plants are beginning to be established, I’ve taken the watering seriously and been consistent feeding with miracle grow.

Stage 3

While I can’t claim to have continued the watering, the rain has helped and the plants are coming to their own with the first flowers already starting to open